Review Category : National News

iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Sensitive sites across the United States are vulnerable to attack by store-bought drones, according to a new assessment by the Department of Homeland Security office in charge of sharing threat information with first-line personnel.

The DHS “intelligence assessment” does not cite any actual or known drone-related threats within the U.S., but it cites several recent instances overseas when terrorist groups and criminal organizations used drones “to support illicit or violent activities.”

In particular, the assessment notes ISIS used aerial drone footage “to support an assault” on an oil refinery in Iraq last year, and at least two thwarted terror plots inside the United States over recent years were to include the use of drones, the assessment says.

“We cannot rule [out] the ability of future adversaries to acquire and use a commercially available [drone] as part of an attack within the Homeland,” according to the assessment issued Friday by the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, or I&A.

The assessment also describes how drug-trafficking organizations use drones to “monitor law enforcement” along U.S. borders and transport loads, even to people inside prison walls.

Like so many other assessments and bulletins issued routinely by DHS, Friday’s 18-page assessment acts more as an “FYI” than a warning to state and local law enforcement.

With recreational use of drones becoming increasingly popular, it will become harder for authorities to detect and stop drones with nefarious intent, according to the assessment.

Since 2012, there have been more than 500 drone “encounters” at sensitive sites across the United States, and 218 of them have been related to the aviation system, the assessment says.

“While many of these encounters are not malicious in nature, they underscore potential security vulnerabilities — that could be used by adversaries to leverage [drones] as part of an attack,” the assessment concludes.

iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Sensitive sites across the United States are vulnerable to attack by store-bought drones, according to a new assessment by the Department of Homeland Security office in charge of sharing threat information with first-line personnel.

The DHS “intelligence assessment” does not cite any actual or known drone-related threats within the U.S., but it cites several recent instances overseas when terrorist groups and criminal organizations used drones “to support illicit or violent activities.”

In particular, the assessment notes ISIS used aerial drone footage “to support an assault” on an oil refinery in Iraq last year, and at least two thwarted terror plots inside the United States over recent years were to include the use of drones, the assessment says.

“We cannot rule [out] the ability of future adversaries to acquire and use a commercially available [drone] as part of an attack within the Homeland,” according to the assessment issued Friday by the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, or I&A.

The assessment also describes how drug-trafficking organizations use drones to “monitor law enforcement” along U.S. borders and transport loads, even to people inside prison walls.

Like so many other assessments and bulletins issued routinely by DHS, Friday’s 18-page assessment acts more as an “FYI” than a warning to state and local law enforcement.

With recreational use of drones becoming increasingly popular, it will become harder for authorities to detect and stop drones with nefarious intent, according to the assessment.

Since 2012, there have been more than 500 drone “encounters” at sensitive sites across the United States, and 218 of them have been related to the aviation system, the assessment says.

“While many of these encounters are not malicious in nature, they underscore potential security vulnerabilities — that could be used by adversaries to leverage [drones] as part of an attack,” the assessment concludes.

iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Sensitive sites across the United States are vulnerable to attack by store-bought drones, according to a new assessment by the Department of Homeland Security office in charge of sharing threat information with first-line personnel.

The DHS “intelligence assessment” does not cite any actual or known drone-related threats within the U.S., but it cites several recent instances overseas when terrorist groups and criminal organizations used drones “to support illicit or violent activities.”

In particular, the assessment notes ISIS used aerial drone footage “to support an assault” on an oil refinery in Iraq last year, and at least two thwarted terror plots inside the United States over recent years were to include the use of drones, the assessment says.

“We cannot rule [out] the ability of future adversaries to acquire and use a commercially available [drone] as part of an attack within the Homeland,” according to the assessment issued Friday by the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, or I&A.

The assessment also describes how drug-trafficking organizations use drones to “monitor law enforcement” along U.S. borders and transport loads, even to people inside prison walls.

Like so many other assessments and bulletins issued routinely by DHS, Friday’s 18-page assessment acts more as an “FYI” than a warning to state and local law enforcement.

With recreational use of drones becoming increasingly popular, it will become harder for authorities to detect and stop drones with nefarious intent, according to the assessment.

Since 2012, there have been more than 500 drone “encounters” at sensitive sites across the United States, and 218 of them have been related to the aviation system, the assessment says.

“While many of these encounters are not malicious in nature, they underscore potential security vulnerabilities — that could be used by adversaries to leverage [drones] as part of an attack,” the assessment concludes.

iStock/Thinkstock(CINCINNATI) — Protesters in Cincinnati hold a vigil to remember the victim of a police shooting.

Chants of “I am Sam DuBose” were heard in Cincinnati on Friday night as hundreds came together for a vigil and rally to remember Sam DuBose, a black man who was shot and killed by Ray Tensing, a white police officer, during a traffic stop. The family of DuBose led the event.

The demonstrators first gathered on the steps of the Hamilton County Courthouse before taking to the streets carrying signs and candles. Tensions rose when the protesters hit Fountain Square and were met by police. Six people were arrested.

Despite the arrests, the event remained mostly peaceful. DuBose’s mother said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for her son.

“I feel like it’s going to get bigger and greater,” she said.

Tensing has been charged with murder and is now out on bail awaiting trial.

iStock/Thinkstock(SACRAMENTO) — California is in a state of emergency as wildfires rage on.

On Friday, California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency as firefighters continue to battle nearly two dozen wildfires. Daniel Berlant, a Cal Fire spokesman, said nearly 9,000 firefighters are on the front line.

“Right now, our largest fire that continues to threaten thousands of homes is the Rocky Fire burning in Lake County,” Berlant told ABC News. “That’s north of San Francisco. That fire has now charred well over 22,000 acres. There are still evacuations in effect.”

Joan Jacobs, a resident of Lake County, described to ABC News what the area is like.

“It’s like being in, in another world, with the smells, the embers, I mean it’s still burning here,” Jacobs said.

“We’ve seen at least a dozen homes and outbuildings destroyed so far by this fire,” said Berlant of the Rocky Fire. “Now thousands more are threatened, but firefighters are really putting up a good fight, trying to protect those homes.”

The National Weather Services also issued a Red Flag Warning for the northern part of California because of the dry thunderstorms and gusty winds.

“We are continuing to see the threat of dry lightning,” said Berlant. “That’s where thunderstorm systems move over the area, bring lightning but very little to no rain at all. That threat will continue through Sunday.”

Cal Fire Capt. Ron Oatman says residents of the affected areas should be prepared for evacuations so they’re not surprised when they get a phone call or a knock on the door.

ABC News(SEATTLE) — The search continues for software engineer Jeremiah Foco, who was en route to his job when he went missing over a week ago.

Foco’s friends plastered photos of the 34-year-old around his Seattle neighborhood, asking strangers if they had seen him.

“Our friend’s gone missing,” a friend of Foco approached a passerby. “We’ve been looking for him for a week.”

A surveillance video is believed to have captured his last sighting. Friends said Foco was visible in the video with a backpack walking down the stairs at a nearby bus station on his way to work July 22.

But he never showed up there.

“If there was nothing else to do we would just hope,” said friend Jocelyn Coimbre. “But right now I just feel like there’s so many things that haven’t been thought of.”

The only other clue is a video believed to be Foco driving into his apartment garage the day before he vanished.

ABC News affiliate KOMO-TV reports that police collected DNA from Foco’s residence Thursday as part of an investigation into his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Foco’s parents traveled from Michigan to help look for their son who they say loves snowboarding and golf.

“It makes no sense,” said Foco’s father Edward. “Something had to have happened.”

“Every day I think that this can’t be real,” Renay Charchan, Foco’s mother said. “Yet every day I wake up and it’s real.”

His loved ones were puzzled and distressed but still hopeful.

“He got up, got ready for work and fell off the planet,” said Charchan. “I just hope and pray every day that there will be some sign.”

Joe Ravi/iStock/ThinkStock(WASHINGTON) — An individual jumped the bike rack on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House but not the actual fence, the Secret Service said Friday.

A statement from Brian Leary, spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service said, “At approximately 7pm tonight, an individual jumped the bike rack on Pennsylvania Avenue. The individual was immediately arrested by USS Uniformed Division Officers The individual is currently charged with “Unlawful Entry” and was transported to the Metropolitan Police Department 2nd District.”

The incident prompted a temporary lockdown of the White House but the lockdown has since been lifted.

Boarding1Now/iStock Editorial/ThinkStock(NEW YORK) — A Delta pilot flying into JFK airport in New York spotted a drone off its right wing as it approached the runway, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday.

The plane, an MD88 with five crew members and 154 customers on board, did not take evasive action and landed without incident, according to the FAA.

“About a mile back, there was a drone flying just on the southwest side,” the pilot tells Air Traffic Control, according to audio provided by LiveATC.net.

“At what altitude?” the controller asks.

“I’d say 100 feet below us, just off the right wing,” the pilot responds.

“JetBlue, use caution,” the controller then warns another plane. “The one that’s ahead of you reported a drone.”

Friday’s incident comes on the heels of another close encounter in New York earlier this year, which forced a plane flying near LaGuardia Airport to climb 200 feet to “avoid” an unmanned aircraft hovering 2,700 feet over Brooklyn.

Amid an alarming number of drone incidents, the FAA has launched a campaign warning hobbyists and other unmanned aerial vehicle operators to stay away from airports.

Boarding1Now/iStock Editorial/ThinkStock(NEW YORK) — A Delta pilot flying into JFK airport in New York spotted a drone off its right wing as it approached the runway, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday.

The plane, an MD88 with five crew members and 154 customers on board, did not take evasive action and landed without incident, according to the FAA.

“About a mile back, there was a drone flying just on the southwest side,” the pilot tells Air Traffic Control, according to audio provided by LiveATC.net.

“At what altitude?” the controller asks.

“I’d say 100 feet below us, just off the right wing,” the pilot responds.

“JetBlue, use caution,” the controller then warns another plane. “The one that’s ahead of you reported a drone.”

Friday’s incident comes on the heels of another close encounter in New York earlier this year, which forced a plane flying near LaGuardia Airport to climb 200 feet to “avoid” an unmanned aircraft hovering 2,700 feet over Brooklyn.

Amid an alarming number of drone incidents, the FAA has launched a campaign warning hobbyists and other unmanned aerial vehicle operators to stay away from airports.

Win McNamee/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — A U.S. government contractor, several of whose employees were caught on video drunk and drugged on a sensitive security mission in Afghanistan, is now being used to help fix the massive security breach at the Office of Personnel Management.

“What are they thinking?” asked Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, who is now demanding to know how the company got its contract from the OPM despite the previous outrageous behavior and with no competitive bidding.

“This is a company that has demonstrated irresponsibility,” McCaskill told ABC News for a report to broadcast Friday on “ABC World News Tonight With David Muir”. “What in this company’s background gave them assurances that they are the company that can handle this incredibly sensitive matter at a time that Americans are really worried about the federal government’s ability to protect personal data?”

The company, formerly known as Jorge Scientific, was awarded the “sole source” contract to overhaul OPM’s computer network last year after hackers believed to be from China stole the personal records of more than 22 million U.S. government employees.

Just three years ago, Jorge Scientific was the subject of an ABC News investigation that featured video from whistleblowers showing employees staggeringly drunk while working as security personnel for the US government in Afghanistan.

In one video sequence, the company medical director was seen semi-conscious, with an syringe next to him.

The company changed its name after the ABC News report, said it fired all the employees involved and hired a new president.

Under its new corporate name, Imperatis, and with a new board of directors featuring high-ranking former military officials, the company has continued to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. contracts, including the contract with OPM.

”This is a company with a bad record that has engaged in gross improprieties in the workplace,” said Sen. McCaskill. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, brought up Imperatis’ checkered past in a Congressional hearing last month, saying the sole-source contract “does beg a lot of questions.”

And now other questions are now being raised about $135 million in what Sen. McCaskill calls “improper payments” involving another government contract.

In an audit report published in April, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found the company could not provide documentation for the $135 million it collected for expenses.

“And when you can’t provide documentation for $135 million worth of work, that raises some red flags and it should have raised red flags,” said John Sopko, the inspector general, in an interview with ABC News. “So we’ve been questioning that and it’s raised a lot of suspicions for us.”

In a statement provided to ABC News, the company disputed the inspector general’s findings, and said it is confident that a review by the Army Contracting Command “will substantiate the costs in question by year’s end.”

The firm also said it has worked with OPM since 2014 after a system there was breached and “Imperatis proudly stands behind the work we are doing for OPM.”

The company added that it agreed the behavior of its employees on the video seen on ABC News was “inappropriate.”

“Imperatis was launched in early 2013 after problems arose at our predecessor company, Jorge Scientific,” the statement said, before describing the leadership shakeup. “We did this with the express intent of inspiring new values, ethics and culture into our company, and to restore the highest possible standard of integrity and professionalism.”

OPM spokesperson told ABC News they were still investigating the facts behind the selection of Imperatis, and added the Department of Homeland Security “officially owned the contract,” although OPM officials had recommended the choice of Imperatis.